LtCmdr Jovenan – Bringing new hope to New Hope
Jovenan
((Transporter room 1, Deck 4, USS Artemis))
Jovenan smiled as each of her away team members arrived. The two junior lieutenants and the junior scientists were still early in their career, but she had worked in some capacity with each of them already and trusted them. It also helped that they had all demonstrated their investigational expertise on their previous mission on Galaris IV; those skills would come handy where they were going. She had also witnessed Bergmen’s proficiency in aerial combat, though she hoped there was no need for fighting in this mission – and certainly not with those kinds of weapons.
Once they had all gathered, the Acting XO gave them a meaningful nod. She didn’t have much experience in leading an away team, but she had been to a mission often enough to mimic some of her senior leaders as she started her explanation.
Jovenan: The Boraxian ship has received weapons fire. It looks like their opponents have been trying to disable them, but they also have a few hull breaches and a lot of problems they haven’t been able to fix for whatever reason. Commander Silveira is taking another team there to render aid, and the Artemis is beaming their injured to the triage centre.
Richards: What are the expectations for the four of us?
Bergmen: Repairs? Search and Rescue? Help with evacuation?
Imril: If it’s repairs, are there any systems that Captain Munro wants us to prioritize?
The team members were leading with multiple questions. Jovenan checked her tricorder and attached it to her belt as they spoke, allowing each of them get a chance to voice their question. Looking at them, she saw that they had a varying types and amounts of equipment with them – which was understandable considering the vague nature of the order to report to the transporter room and the different duty posts – so she gestured to the shelves and the replicator for in case they needed to get something more for the away mission now that they were more aware of its nature.
Jovenan: Our tasks are to help them if needed, but also to investigate them. We’re not expecting trouble, but we don’t know much about them, and they also haven’t been forthcoming with what they share with us. So, let’s be careful and thorough. ::pause:: Other questions?
It remained to be seen which of their tasks would be more important. In truth, Jovenan didn’t know what exactly they would be seeing once they beamed in. The Boraxian Captain’s inability to assess the amount of damage they had sustained didn’t leave her confident in what condition the ship was when they got there.
Richards: Do they know we are investigating them? Or do we need to keep our studies on the down low?
Bergmen: In case we need to split into buddy teams to cover more territory or make repairs, how do we split? Team OPS-Engineering one and Science two?
Imril: I’d recommend a scientist on each team. We’d get a wider distribution of skill sets that way.
Jovenan scratched her cheek. Both suggestions were reasonable. That what being in command was, it seemed: being presented with two equally good or bad options and picking one based on little information, with the full knowledge that if things turned bad, it was her choice that could seal the fate of other people. She smiled a little at her own, overdramatic thoughts – nothing would go that much wrong in this mission, right?
Jovenan: Thank you for your recommendations, Lieutenants. Let’s try to stick together at first, but we can try and cover more ground as Lieutenant Imril suggested, if needed – and if I say so. And no, the Boraxians don’t know we’re there to investigate them, only to help. So, let’s be subtle, but as long as we really do try to help them, I don’t think we need to be covert.
Richards: With what they have shared with us so far, do we need to be concerned about a possible enemy of theirs? Has anyone seen anyone out there other than the Boraxians?
Bergmen: Do we know anything about the attackers? Did they leave the space, or are they still somewhere… out there?
Imril: I’m no strategic operations officer, but hitting a ship so hard and then backing out without finishing the job, it seems to me that might be something pirates would do if they were worried about destroying something valuable before they could claim it. Or, if it was pirates, they might have ran off once the Boraxian ship got their distress signal out. But that’s all highly speculative at this point.
Jovenan sighed a little. Even if the Boraxian turned out to be just as peaceful as their reports indicated, there was an element of danger nonetheless. Being on a damaged ship was always hazardous, and she didn’t want to think what would happen if the Boraxians’ opponents returned. Then again, they had the Artemis protecting them.
Jovenan: That’s right. We don’t know anything about the attackers, except that they didn’t appear anywhere near us in the scanners. They may have run away or be hiding somewhere. The Boraxians didn’t tell us anything yet. But we can expect the Artemis will alert us and beam us up if they return.
Richards nodded. Jovenan hated taking the heavily-pregnant woman with them to a place where she or her babies could in theory be injured, but despite the speculations, they were just going to beam to a colony ship, a far less threatening a situation than the war-ridden planet they had previously been to. Hopefully her faith in the safety of the mission wasn’t going to be challenged.
Richards: ::To Jovenan:: Understood Commander.
Bergmen: Maybe one more question, ma’am… I noticed we are going there without any SecTac officer, but… Given the unknown we are expecting… Should we arm ourselves?
Imril: ::To Bergmen, with a wry smile:: Is it too late to bump up that phaser re-certification? ::To Jovenan:: My present certification is still valid, to be clear, Sir.
Jovenan chuckled.
Jovenan: In that case, you can take a phaser, Lieutenant Imril. ::pause, more serious:: I’ll take one too, so that we’re not defenceless if we split up. We’re there to render aid, so let’s assume they are the innocent victims of an attack who need our help. Don’t pull out your weapon except for self-defence or if I tell you to.
Nodding. Jovenan fetched herself a phaser, checked that it was set to the lowest stun setting, and holstered it. Her relation to the sidearm had changed over the years, leaving her uncertain how to feel about it; she had been in too many fights to not feel some level of comfort in having one with her.
Bergmen: No other questions from me, everything is clear.
Imril: I’m as prepared as I can be, until we get a look at what we’re dealing with.
Richards: Response
Jovenan: Good. Everyone, check that you have everything you need.
The team members each checked their equipment. Lieutenant Imril was eyeing the replicator, but instead of going for it, they turned to Jovenan.
Imril: Ready to disembark, Commander.
Richards/Bergmen: Response
Jovenan: Let’s get moving, then.
They each stepped onto the transported pad. Jovenan took the front-most pad, as the team leaders usually did. She didn’t know why, exactly; was it a matter of prestige to be at the front, or was it a sign of protectiveness to be the one to take the first blast if the people on the other side were violent after all? Not wanting to dive too deep into the origin of Starfleet traditions or the possibly tragic implications they may have for her, she turned to the transporter chief and nodded.
Jovenan: Energise.
((Corridor, New Hope))
The blue mist dissipated around each of the Artemis crewmembers, leaving them to a barren corridor. Jovenan’s gaze wandered around the space before she allowed her head to turn. The corridor was dim except for the blinking light straight above them. There was a single, fallen beam ahead of them, not enough to block their way further into the corridor, but it was a clear indication of the ship taking damage. Turning around, Jovenan saw that the other way was closed off by a heavy blast door. There were no other people around them, as far as she could see; she hoped that it was because they had all managed to escape to a safe location rather than been blown out into the space. She pulled her tricorder out and turned to the others, expecting to hear their first reports.
Richards/Bergmen/Imril: Response
Jovenan: The Boraxian Captain was certainly not exaggerating experiencing malfunctions… Do our surroundings pose us any danger?
Richards/Bergmen/Imril: Response
Jovenan looked around more. The corridor was reasonably wide, not unlike those of the Artemis, at least in the upper decks. Despite the occasional rubble and the lack of light, the area seemed to be built for comfort rather than function. Perhaps they were in the section where the crew or the colonists lived.
Jovenan: This is a colony ship, so there should be some kind of colonist accommodation area. Can you find it, and a safe route to it? We might find some of their passengers there and see what they need.
Richards/Bergmen/Imril: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Acting XO (Chief Science Officer)
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11